


Kingdoms of the Dead

by ncfan



Series: Life Under a Starlit Sky [3]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Diary/Journal, F/F, F/M, Fictional Historical Documents, Gen, Head Canon Vanyarin spiritual beliefs, If only in recounting, POV Female Character, POV First Person, Textual Ghosts, Topics of a spiritual nature, fading, records
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-04
Updated: 2014-07-04
Packaged: 2018-02-07 12:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1899405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ncfan/pseuds/ncfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The two latest patients are much the same. When I hold a light up to Morilindo's skin, I can see the ground beyond him."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kingdoms of the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I can not do Primitive Quendian names like some people can. I can do some (keyword: some) Primitive Quendian words, especially the ones I manage to find in HoME volumes, but not names. My in-universe explanation is that the names got changed when the editor was transcribing all of this in Tengwar rather than the Sarati Airanis originally used. My out-of-universe explanation… Sorry guys. I just can't.
> 
> Also, for some edification: Airanis is Elenwë's paternal grandmother. Elenilmë is Elenwë's mother.

_From the Archives of Taniquetil, the House devoted to topics of a spiritual nature, FADING_

_From the notes of Airanis of the Minyar, exorcist and priest of Irmo, written during the March from Cuiviénen to Aman_

-0-0-0-

Entry #52:

It is the fifth day of the week, the sixth cycle of the Circa1, the second week of the fourth month. We have passed over our second set of mountains2, and I can only suppose that we'll lose yet more of the Teleri when they finally get to it. They're lagging behind. From what I've heard, Finwë wants to wait for them; I doubt Ingwë will be having any of that3. I take note of significantly milder weather in these lands than what we have experienced since leaving the shores of Cuiviénen. Winter has passed us by, and except at the greatest heights we did not encounter more than an inch of snow. I think the Ñgolodō have suffered more than we have.

The two latest patients are much the same. When I hold a light up to Morilindo's skin, I can see the ground beyond him. The patient Lady Indis discovered before we crossed the mountains has, I suppose, passed on. We looked for her before the host began to march again, and could not find her. She had been nearly invisible, appearing only as a faint, glimmering outline. When she spoke we had to strain our ears to hear her, and even then, we couldn't make everything out.

I wonder what has become of her. The nís expressed great terror at her prospective fate. I could not find the words with which to comfort her; Nasarë often bats me away from the patients when it becomes clear that their situation is hopeless, as she (the consummate healer), seems to think that I am lacking in appropriate amounts of tact. I wonder also what I am to say to Indis. She had taken a great deal of interest in this patient, visiting when she could and trying to comfort her as best she could.

Elenilmë, my assistant, if not my student (she proclaims that the art will never be for her, with the certainty that I have grown accustomed to from her), remains a great help to me in documenting symptoms and identifying patients. I must thank Sívendur for sending her to me.

Istien remains my faithful sister in our chosen calling. She is one of the few among the Ñgolodō to practice, and that makes me all the more thankful for her, as I do not know what I would do without a liaison to the Ñgolodō who fully understands all of what I am saying. Those among their people who have fallen to this strange illness need treatment and must be monitored, even if there are few among them who specialize in illnesses of this sort.

-0-0-0-

Entry #53:

Elenilmë has informed me that I ought to document all of the symptoms we have encountered thus far. She has a great love for lists, Elenilmë, and frankly, it is not a love I understand. However, when we visited the camp of the Ñgolodō, Istien and Míriel Þerindë—the latter of whom was assisting Núlon in the surgery; Míriel may not be a surgeon herself, but having invented needlework, she can still provide invaluable assistance—said the same thing.

"How are you ever to keep all the knowledge inside of your own head if you never commit any of it to writing? I know too many people who just let facts slide in and out of their heads without warning."

Míriel is as straightforward as ever. As fond as I am of her, I sometimes wonder how she's managed to come so far without driving off Finwë or Indis.

As it is, I have compiled this list of symptoms, gathered with Elenilmë, Istien, Míriel, Indis and Nasarë's aid. I must also give credit to my husband Anwaner, who has listened to me talk incessantly on this topic enough to retain much of what I myself have learned.

………………

At the first, when a Quendë begins to experience this illness, the symptoms are as follows. There appears a light beneath their skin, possessing neither the appearance of fire nor the light of the stars, but perhaps an intermediate between the two. The sufferer may also experience disorientation. The nís Indis found had no sense of her own identity, and could not tell us her name; she never regained her sense of self, and as her condition worsened she grew steadily more incoherent. Some have reported malaise, more specifically a sense of foreboding, of feeling as though they are not alone even when no one else is around them.

The symptoms that appear next are usually a lack of appetite and insensitivity to great heat or cold. They also lose all sense of physical pain. I witnessed a sufferer thrust his hand into a fire and feel no pain. It is worth noting that at this stage, they begin to sleep with an unnatural amount of stillness. I would not note this if not for the fact that everyone whom I have observed at this stage of the illness sleeps unnaturally deeply, and lies perfectly still, as though dead.

The next stage is when the Quendë's body begins to grow translucent. To look at them is as looking upon a flickering candle flame that is guttering increasingly low as time wears on. There is a light in their eyes that is very much akin to that of glowing coals, but it goes out as time wears on as well.

The body of the sufferer grows increasingly translucent. Their voice becomes more and more difficult to hear, and even when it can be heard, the words spoken are often utterly incomprehensible. After a certain point, the sufferer no longer seems to understand what we are saying to them, either.

Eventually, the Quendë will vanish entirely. I do not know what becomes of them after that.

Perhaps they are committed to the care of the Doomsman as Oromë claimed the dead are.

Perhaps they are ensnared by the Enemy.

Perhaps they simply become nothing.

Perhaps they are still here, with us.

………………

Indis wept when I told her the fate of the nís she had brought to me. I do not know what to say to her.

-0-0-0-

Entry #54:

We have lately forded the latest4 in a succession of great rivers and passed over from forests into grassland. After some debate, Finwë agreed with Ingwë that the best thing to do was to move on without the Teleri and hope they catch us later. During their discussions, Indis remarked that Finwë and Elwë have always been good friends; somehow I doubt Finwë accepted the decision to leave the Teleri behind with good grace.

I worry about how exposed we are, away from the trees. We could encounter any number of Orcs or other fell creatures of the Hunter in the Dark's5. But I suppose that, for once, we'll be able to spot them coming from miles away, so that evens it out.

Elenilmë has come to me and said that we will find more sufferers of this mysterious illness soon. I do not think she wishes for more to fall ill, but she speaks with such terrible certainty. When I ask her how she knows, she can not say. Sívendur is possessed of a degree of foresight. I wonder if she didn't pass that on to her daughter.

-0-0-0-

Entry #55:

I honestly wonder if this isn't something I've seen before.

The two I'm watching, Morilindo and Thúlwë, were discovered at the same time. They are both Minyar, both healthy neri of around the same size and age. Up until now, they had been progressing at the same rate, but Morilindo has begun to decline at a vastly accelerated rate. He appears now as a flickering flame; I can only make out around half of what he says, and I understand even less. He doesn't have much time left, before the end.

Thúlwë has begun to report terrible dreams. He claims that in these dreams, he is stalked by shadows and whispers that he can never see clearly, that he has a sense of them using him, though he can not say how. More worryingly, he claims to hear disembodied voices during his periods of wakefulness, though once again, he can never tell me what it exactly they say to him.

By the shores of Cuiviénen, we experienced possession. Not all of the Hunter's attacks against us were made by our mutilated kin or by his fell beasts. He was capable of subtlety, though I rather wish he wasn't. This is not the same as what I witnessed at Cuiviénen. When Quendi were possessed by those foul spirits6, they became agitated and violent, utterly incoherent. Without treatment, they would die quickly, within a day or so. This does not resemble that at all, but for the fact that Thúlwë has had dreams and heard voices the way the possessed of Cuiviénen did shortly before the primary symptoms of their possession became manifest.

I requested the services of Ránesanwë. Since the invention of spoken language, the gift for mind-walking has become increasingly rare; for the most part, our children no longer possess it at all. Ránesanwë is one of the few who can still enter the minds of others and sift through their thoughts with ease.

In Cuiviénen, possession was confirmed or denied by having one capable of mind-walking look into the mind of a Quendë suspected to be possessed. It is easy enough to detect a foreign influence in the mind. Usually, if the Quendë's original consciousness could still be detected (not yet having been overrun by the intruder's consciousness), it was still possible for them to be saved, though I will not lie and say that anyone who had experienced possession was ever quite the same again after the experience.

Ránesanwë claimed that she could not detect any consciousness at all from Thúlwë. Not that of an intruder, and not that of Thúlwë either. I found her pronouncement disconcerting, but decided to go forward with the exorcism anyway.

For the sake of posterity (and because I do understand the importance of having a written record of what I did this hour), what follows is a written record of the process.

………………

Before performing an exorcism, it is imperative to construct a small house (and by small, I mean small enough to fit in the palm of an adult's hand) for the spirit. The material does not matter, though I noticed that exorcisms were more likely to be successful when the material was clay of some sort. As I do not currently have access to clay, I have woven grass into a house suitable for holding a spirit. A bit of sheepskin edged with glue will suffice for a door. I placed a scrap of raw venison in the house to entice the spirit once it has been drawn out of the possessed's body.

The words used in the rites of exorcism are not to be committed to writing, not for any purpose. If words have power, these are words that could move make the earth tremble under their weight, and such words are not to be recorded lightly. It is enough that exorcists teach the words of the rites to their students.

I performed a typical exorcism upon Thúlwë. If this had been a possession of the type I became familiar with by the shores of Cuiviénen, the effect upon him would have been immediate. He would have come back to himself; he would not still appear as he does. Moreover, if the spirit had been enticed by the venison, it would have entered into the house, visible to the naked eye, and I would have shut the door upon it, and had it buried twelve hand-spans beneath the surface of the earth as is traditional.

As it is, if this is possession, it does not appear to be the sort of possession I am familiar with.

-0-0-0-

Entry #56:

Elenilmë suggested that we go to visit Istien today. She said she felt it would be important for us to do so, and as I am quickly learning not to doubt Elenilmë's "intuition", I agreed to go. Not long afterwards, we had Indis and Ilmion trailing after us—the former intended to go visit Finwë and Míriel; the latter is another exorcist who has heard tell of Elenilmë's "intuition" (that I grow increasingly certain is actually foresight) and suspected that his services would be needed. I wonder if Ilmion does not possess foresight himself.

Istien indeed had another patient, this one a young nís. She was clearly in the initial stages of the illness; her skin glowed with the light that was akin to neither fire nor starlight. She was also somewhat disoriented, though not as much as the nís Indis discovered before we crossed the last mountain range. This one was eventually able to tell us her name. She is called Fëarillë, a name which has become fearfully apt of late.

Fëarillë also told me something quite interesting. The last time she slept before the symptoms of this illness first emerged, she dreamt of her mother. Her mother was begging her for help, for aid, for succor. She begged her child to give of herself to aid her. When she awoke, she could still hear her mother making her pleas. Fëarillë's mother died during the crossing of the first mountain range we encountered7. It would appear that this is possession after all, if possession of a different stripe.

I performed the rites of exorcism upon Fëarillë, and as with Thúlwë (who sadly has since declined further), it had no effect. I intend to consult further with my brother and sister exorcists. Though sufferers of this new possession usually linger in the initial stages for several days at least, haste is the watchword.

-0-0-0-

Entry #57:

It is the ninth day of the week, the second cycle of the Circa, the third week of the fourth month.

I have consulted with several of my brother and sister exorcists: Istien of the Ñgolodō, as well as Ilmion, Airanárë, Alimelen, Annanis, and Lindalëon of my own people. I have also consulted with Finyango and Carnesercë of the Ñgolodō, two practitioners of magic who may lend aid in any alterations needed to be made to the incantations of exorcism to fit the differing circumstances.

Once again, I will record any alterations made (though not those made to the incantations, for the same reason) to the typical rites of exorcism. I have still constructed a house for the wayward spirit. This time, I do not use raw flesh to entice the spirit, but instead fruit. Airanárë argues that since most living Quendi do not consume raw meat, not since the discovery of fire, it would be inappropriate to expect the spirit of a Quendë to find raw meat enticing. Moreover, those Quendi who might have reason to know of exorcism rites in life might, as houseless spirits, find the comparison between themselves and fell spirits of the Hunter in the Dark's insulting. If they are not shut up in the house, they will be free to roam. It was further suggested that the fruit be smashed so that the smell would be stronger. Whether or not a houseless spirit even has a sense of smell is beyond me.

Though I will not record the incantations here, I will say that different emphases have been added or taken away on Finyango and Carnesercë's advice. If these are indeed houseless spirits of the Quendi, it would be better not to focus on punishment and justice, but on closure and peace. I only hope that can make a difference.

While Fëarillë has not proved violent at any point in time, Istien still advised that she be restrained, and Fëarillë herself has agreed. My brother and sister exorcists with whom I consulted are present, so that if the rites are too exhausting for me, one of them can step in and take my place. Also present is Nasarë, to tend to Fëarillë's needs. Beyond that, this experiment has drawn quite the crowd. Elenilmë is here; so are her parents. Indis and Míriel showed up together. My husband was drawn by the racket (looking for a good show, no doubt); my brother Vaniser has appeared as well (And likely for the same reason as Anwaner). Rúmil insists that he be present as an observer; he has his quill at the ready. Even our esteemed leaders have deigned to show themselves.

I will report my results when the rites are complete.

-0-0-0-

Entry #58:

The altered rites were successful. The spirit of Fëarillë's mother was drawn from her body and sealed in the house I had prepared for it. A houseless spirit will ever search for a home, it seems, but we must be careful lest they decide that our bodies are suitable homes. I attempted to perform the altered rites upon Thúlwë and Morilindo soon afterwards, to no avail. Annanis did the same (we had hoped that since she had not exerted herself, she might have more success), with fruitless results. Morilindo has since vanished; Thúlwë is soon to join him. Fëarillë has recovered, however; the light has disappeared from her skin, and she appears as substantial as any healthy nís.

It seems that, after a point, the rites of exorcism are no longer effective. We will have to take care to catch the possession in its early stages in the future. I remain uncertain as to why the houseless spirit of a Quendë taking possession of a living Quendë would produce the symptoms that it does.

-0-0-0-

EDITOR'S NOTE:

With the benefit of added millennia to the history of the Quendi, the phenomenon of fading is better understood than it was during the time of the Great March. Fading is, in short, the process of the fire of a Quendë's spirit consuming their body whole. Fading is a phenomenon that occurs only in Endóre; the nature of Aman does not allow for fading. It is most likely to occur when a Quendë has reached advanced age, of at least several millennia, but it does not happen to everyone of such an age. The reasons as to why are unknown.

It is hypothesized that the accelerated fading witnessed by Airanis and others during the Great March was due to the possession of living Quendi by the houseless spirits of deceased Quendi. With two spirits inhabiting the same body, that body was consumed by the fire of the spirits within more rapidly than it would have been had there been only one spirit occupying the body.

Alas, it remains after all this time uncertain what becomes of those Quendi who fade entirely before they can submit to the healing of Aman.

* * *

 

**End Notes**

1: 'Circa' referring to the Valacirca. Before the Calaquendi reached Aman, they marked the passage of time by the movements of the Valacirca. Every cycle of the Valacirca was counted as an hour; every twelve cycles was counted as a day. There were twelve days to a week, three weeks to a month, and four months to a year. The term 'day' is a modern conceit; the term used at the time of the literally meant "Twelfth sickle-cycle."  
2: This mountain range being that which the Moriquendi refer to as the Ered Luin, the Blue Mountains. Before the sinking of Beleriand, this mountain range separated the regions of Beleriand and Eriador.  
3: The debate of Ingwë and Finwë as to whether to wait for the Teleri upon entering Beleriand is recounted in Rúmil of Tirion's _Travels_.  
4: This river being that which the Moriquendi refer to as Gelion. It is believed that the hosts of the Minyar and the Noldor passed between the rivers Ascar and Thalos, which were tributaries of the Gelion.  
5: An archaic term referring to Moringotto; drawn from the fact that he first made himself known to the Quendi at Cuiviénen by snatching them away when they ventured into the deep forests by themselves.  
6: The nature of the non-Quendi spirits responsible for the possessions at Cuiviénen is at best unclear. Airanis and other exorcists interviewed were unable to confirm if they were Úmaiar, spirits of the earth such as Wirilomë and the River-daughters, or some other entity whose origins are unknown.  
7: The mountain range being that which the Moriquendi refer to as the Hithaeglir, the Misty Mountains. This mountain range, first raised by Moringotto in order to impede Oromë in his hunting of Moringotto's servants acted as the border between Eriador and Rhovanion. During the Great March from Cuiviénen to Aman, the Nandor refused to cross the Misty Mountains.

**Author's Note:**

> Moringotto—Morgoth (Quenya)  
> Wirilomë—"Gloomweaver"; a Vanyarin Quenya name for Ungoliant
> 
> Minyar—'Firsts', the first clan of the Elves of Cuiviénen, who were named for Imin and Iminyë, the former of whom was the first Elf to awaken. The Noldor called them 'Vanyar', 'Fair ones' (rendered in Primitive Quendian as 'wanjā', and rendered in Telerin as 'Vaniai'), due to the nearly-universal trait of fair hair among the clan, but even in Aman, they still often referred to themselves as 'Minyar.' (Singular: Minya) (Adjectival form: Minyarin)  
> Ñgolodō—the Primitive Quendian original form of "Noldor", derived from the stem ngol "knowledge, wisdom, lore"  
> Nís—woman (plural: nissi)  
> Quendë—literally 'Speaker'; an Elf (plural: Quendi) (Quenya)  
> Neri—men (singular: nér)  
> Endóre—Middle-Earth (Quenya)  
> Valacirca—"The Sickle of the Valar" (Quenya); one of the constellations set by Varda to give light to the world in which the Elves awoke; its real-life equivalent is Ursa Major, the Big Dipper or Big Bear  
> Calaquendi—"Elves of the Light" (Quenya); those Elves who came to Aman from Cuiviénen, or were born there, especially those who were born during the Years of the Trees and saw the Trees' light (singular: Calaquendë)  
> Moriquendi—"Elves of the Darkness" (Quenya); those Elves (or their descendants) who did not complete or did not make the journey to Aman, and thus never saw the light of the Two Trees (singular: Moriquendë)  
> Úmaiar—evil spirits, specifically those Maiar corrupted into Morgoth's service (Quenya)


End file.
